Depression among college students exist although it may not be heard of very often in the media. A lot of colleges do have counseling centers for students who are having trouble coping with college life.
The thing is, the signs are always there. The problem is, no one notices because there is a lack of education. In my opinion, it reminds me of how things used to be decades ago. If you had personal problems at home, no one interfered. And it seems that kind of mentality stills looms large. When kids go off to college, the first thing on their mind is whether they will make friends. But once they get there, it becomes even bigger than that. The stress shifts from friends to relationships, to grades, and to money. That is enough to make any student go crazy. From first hand experience, professors don’t want to get involved. Whether it is because of ignorance or because they just feel a student’s well-being isn’t their concern.
The signs and symptoms of diminished mental capacity are there no matter how subtle. Symptoms can range from erratic sleeping habits, irritability, a decrease in academic performance, loss of enjoyment in hobbies and activities, and isolation. And what should be noticed are negative comments that speak of hopelessness, loneliness, and substance abuse. Those comments may seem minor but they can blow up into something bigger that may take a long time to get over.
Something else I noticed is that the doctors don’t always ask the proper questions. If a student goes to the health center with aches and pains, it automatically becomes something physiological instead of checking to see if it’s something psychological as well. Lately, there have been commercials on television advertising how chronic physical pain can very well be a symptom of depression.
One possible solution to curb college depression is awareness. Parents need to become aware because some don’t know. Some parents aren’t educated in all that stuff but they need to be. They send their child off to school and next thing you know they get that dreaded phone call that their child has committed suicide or they tried to attempt it. I also believe professors need to not only pay attention to their students grades but they need to ask why they are performing poorly. They may be surprised at what they discover and what the student will realize.
